In my blog last week, you may recall that I wished for one final push of Broad-winged Hawks. I am happy to report that my wish came true. On the very next day, I counted 780 broad-wings, and by the last day of the count (yesterday), I added another 400 to the season total. [...]
Many birders ask the question, "What bird do you see most from the hawk deck at Whitefish Point?" and while I do see many raptors, there is one bird that I see with more regularity than any other. This bird is with me from the beginning of the day to the end of the [...]
It's Easter Monday, and as I stand here on the hawk deck at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory — in below-freezing temperatures, with frigid north winds whipping off of Lake Superior, and snow (yes SNOW) falling from the sky — I have to ask myself, "Has the time moved at all?" There may be less snow [...]
There is nothing like a gray day to set one's mind on a contemplative path and the first week of the hawk count certainly provided me with a string of them. Luckily for me, a watcher of the skies, my only limits were the clouds. Even so, my imagination takes me far beyond and if [...]
By Gary Palmer, 2018 Spring Hawk Counter Despite the thick blanket of snow which remains at Whitefish Point, there have been some clear indications that spring really is beginning. Today the thermometer crept above freezing for the first time this season, the warm air brought in by our first southerly winds. And along [...]
By Gary Palmer, 2018 Spring Hawk Counter The 2018 hawk count here at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is underway! We got off to a bit of a slow start on Thursday, March 15, when wind and snow conspired to produce some truly crummy viewing conditions. During the opening day blizzard, [...]
